Automatic fire-extinguisher



2 Sheets-Shet 1.

' (No Model.)

w. HARKNESS. v AUTOMATIC FIRE BXTINGUISHER.

7 I Patented A11 20, .1895. J

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(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. HARKNESS. AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

Patented Aug. 20, 1895.

ATTORNEY,

UNTTED TATES r PATENT FFtcE.

WILLIAM HARKNEss, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE GENERAL FIREEXTINGUISHER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK;

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHERQ SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 544,895, dated August 20, 1895. Application filed April 21,1890- Seiial No. 43,837- (N0 mod To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HARKNESS, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomaticFire-Extinguishers,which are fully set forth in the followingspecification and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form partthereof.

This invention relates to that class of fireextinguishing apparatuswhich acts automatically or which is set in operation by the heat of thefire.

I-Ieretofore in wet-pipe systems buildings have been equipped withautomatic sprinklers the pipes of which have been filled with water. Insystems of this kind difficulties have arisen, such as the freezing ofthe water in the pipes and the consequent rendering of the equipmentinoperative. Efforts have also been made to use what is known as thedry-pipe systems, the pipes of which are charged with compressed air toprevent the opening of the main valve at the tank. Compressed air cannotbe held for a lengthy period by a metal as porous as iron with anycertainty, and the vibration of the building is liable to crack orloosen the joints of the system of pipes, causing the air graduallytoescape and remove the pressure necessary to its operativeness. This kindof equipment is complicated, expensive, and difiicult to keep in anoperative condition. It is necessary frequently to use the air-pump andthe system requires much care and labor.

To overcome the difiiiculties above specified it is necessary to use aliquid which will not freeze and not injure fabrics or metals more thanwater. A liquid of this character is described in Letters Patent No.182,508, of September 19, 1876, and No. 199,950, of February 5, 1878.

In carrying out my invention I cause the pipes making up the systemnormally to stand full of a non-freezing and preferablyfire-extinguishing liquid, as above referred to, and whereby when a firetakes place the sprinklernozzles in the vicinity of the contlagrationdischarge the non-freezing and fire-extinguishing liquid upon theflames, and as soon as a given quantity has been discharged the water isautomatically turned on to the system of pipes and then dischargesthrough the open noz'zlesin place of the non-freezing liquid. Theseseveral features and an apparatus for putting the same into effect willbe more particularly specified in referring to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of a building equippedwith myimproved non-freezingwetpipe system. Fig. 2 is a sectionalelevation of one arrangement of the tanks or reservoirs for thenon-freezingliquid and the Water. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of themain valve for turning on the supply of water. Fig. 4 is an elevation ofthe yoke of the automatic valve; and Fig. 5 is an elevation of amodified arrangement of tanks for the water and non-freezing liquid, andalso a modification of automatic valve for holding the liquids separate.

My invention is intended to combine with thesystem of stationary pipesand automatic sprinklers the non-freezing fire-extinguishing liquidabove referred to; and with this object in view, I make use of a tank Din an elevated position, which is filled with the said non-freezingfire-extinguishing liquid, to

which tank the system of pipes is connected, and I also provide awater-supply to follow the non-freezing fire-extinguishing liquidthrough the system of pipes Where the discharge takes place. For thissaid water-supply a tank or reservoir J in an elevated position isalsoprovided, and from the bottom or lower part of this tank a pipeE isconnected, in which a valve I of novel construction is placed; but I donot limit myself to the arrangement of these tanks or reservoirs shownand described, but the location or arrangement of these tanks withrelation. to each other may be varied without departing from myinvention so-long as the non-freezing fireextinguishing liquid is causedto flow first, to be followed by water. a

The construction ofthe Valve I is shown in Fig. 3 and will be explainedin detail hereinafter. It is automatic inits action, causing the openingof the water-pipe upon the discharge of the non-freezing liquid, so thatsaid water may follow the non-freezing liquid in its passage to thesprinkler-nozzles H; but, of course, I do not limit myself to thisparticular valve, since avalve of any other construction that will bringabout the desired result can be employed without departing from thespirit of my invention. The main pipe E connects with the line-pipe F,extending through the building from floor to fioor, and from which themains G lead off and enter each room or compartment to be protected.From these mains G branch pipes lead off upon the ceilings of thevarious rooms or compartments, and one or more automaticsprinkler-nozzles are connected with each of said branch pipes, as shownin Fig. 1.

The tank D for the non-freezing liquid is located in an elevatedposition and preferably beside the water-tank J on the roof or tower,and connects with the main F'and to the discharge side of the valve I bya pipe K, and may have a valve 70 to shutoff the supply when necessaryfor repairs or otherwise. It is provided with an automatic trip L,actuated by the liquid-level becoming low, and

consists of a hinged float L, arranged to fall but not to rise above agiven position. Upon this fioatis supported a metal ball L to which isconnected a chain or cord Z, extending up over and around pulleys Z to acatch L, which controls the valve I in the manner now to be explained.

The valve I, for automatically turning on the water, is constructedsubstantially as shown in Fig. 3, in which we have thevertically-movable valve L closing down upon its seat against thepressure of the water. This valve is carried by and is adjustable uponthe end of a valvestem L by means of a screw-thread t'. The upper partof this stem is provided with a collar 11 and a hand-Wheel L Hinged orotherwise loosely secured to the valve-check is a locking-lever I, whichpresses down upon the collar t and holds the valve tightly upon itsseat. The free end of this arm or lever is held down by a bellcrankedlever 1 The hand-wheel and valve may be turned to force the valve downupon the seat and make a perfectly liquid-tight joint. It is evidentthat if the bell-crank lever be thrown back the lever or arm I will bereleased and the pressure of the water will force the valve up andescape from pipe E into the pipe F, and thence into the other mains. Toautomatically move this lever 1 I provide a falling weight 1 guided downupon the lever by a rod 1 and in falling strikes the lever and throughthe concussion due to the impact forces the lever I back, releasing thevalve. Normally this weight 1 is held up by a catch L, which catchesunder a lug Z on the weight. This catch is operated by the automaticdevice in the tank D above referred to. As an additional precaution, Iprovide a second lever 2', which is connected to the loose collar tencircling the valve-stem and resting against the under side of thecollar i on the said valve-stem. The other end of this lever isweighted, as at i", and is also connected to a yoke 1 which extends overthe top of the bell-crank lever i and holds said lever in a raisedposition. The weight 1 is also provided with a downwardly-extendingprojection, which, when the weight falls, strikes the lever 1 just afterthe lever I has been struck and liberates the yoke. The object of thisis to force up the valve-stem and its valve by a positive movement andthus avoid relying solely on the pressure of the water. It is evidentthat the form of automatic valve here shown is only one type of whatmight be used, and hence I do not limit myself to the details thereof;but, as before stated, any valve or other device which will hold thewater separate from the non-freezing liquid and designed to operateautomatically by the discharge of the non-freezing liquid, so that thenon-freezing liquid shall flow first, to be followed by the Water, maybe employed in carrying out my invention without departing therefrom,and I have shown a modified form of valve in Fig. 5. The automaticvalves or sprinklers to be used with my system may be of any desiredconstruction, and I refer to my patents, No. 323,578, granted August 4,1885; No. 356,874., granted February 1, 1887, and No. 417,025, grantedDecember 10,1889, as types of this mechanism.

From the device thus far set forth it will be seen that if any one ofthe automatic valves or sprinklers 11 opens, in consequence of excessiveheat, the liquid in the mains or conduits K F G and branch pipes g willbe discharged from the opened'sprinkler, and the liquid falling upon andaround the fire acts to extinguish the flames both by direct contacttherewith and by the gases and fumes thus evolved by the contact of theliquid with the fire. The supply of the non-freezingfireextinguishingliquid will usually be somewhat limited, and to guardagainst a lack of fireextinguishing liquid I combine with the devicesbefore described means of supplying water in two places. This is done byconnecting to the lower part of the system of pipes a second supply-pipeN, that extends through the wall of the building to the street, so thata hose from a fire-engine can be screwed upon the end of thepipe andwater forced into and through the system of pipes and discharged throughthe opened sprinklers which have been released by the heat of the fire.It is necessary to introduce a check-valve 7t into this pipe N, whichextends to the street, to prevent the loss of the saidfire-extinguishing liquid and to allow free ingress of water from thefire-hose attached to same when desired. I also provide a valve 0 in themains G for each floor of the building, by which the further dischargeof water or liquid can be stopped when the fire has been extinguished.For the purpose of making repairs such as require the pipes to be freefrom liquid, a drip-pipe G is placed in the main pipe G of each floor,which pipe is also provided with a valve 9'. The said pipe G receivesthe drain from the branch pipe 9 and main G IOC TIC

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after the valve 0 of the same has been closed. This drip-pipe dischargesinto a receivingtank G to prevent any waste of the non-freezing liquid.This receiving-tank can be placed at any desirable place. I prefer inall cases to place a valve 0 in the main pipe G of each floor for thepurpose of controlling the flow of the liquid in case of fire oraccident in one floor independently of the other floors. The variousfloors are marked A, B, and O.

The operation is as follows: Where a fire occurs and the heat has becomesufiicient t0 unseal the sprinkler above, the non-freezing liquid whichnormally fills the pipes will be scattered over the fire and extinguishit. When the liquid has been drawn from the smaller elevated tank orreservoir D down to or below the hinged float L, placed on the inside,the ball-L which rests on this float, will roll off, and when the chainL, to which it is attached, becomes taut the sudden stop of the ballwill throw out the latch L of the valve I, to which the other end of thechain is fastened, and let the weight I fall, opening the valve I andallowing the flow of water from the larger elevated tank J to passthrough pipe E and into the pipe F, leading into the system of pipes Gg.

In a fire-extinguishing system embodying my invention there is no riskof the apparatus getting out of order or becoming injured by the actionof frost, because the fire-extinguishing liquid does not freeze, and Iam also able to continue the supply of water after the non-freezingfire-extinguishing liquid has become exhausted; and, besides, it is manytimes as efficacious as water, and all materials with which it or itsgases come in contact are rendered incombustible and the fire beingextinguished reignition is impossible.

It is necessary in a fireextinguishing apparatus in which a non-freezingfire-extinguishing liquid is used in the system of pipes that provisionshould be made for expansion and contraction of the liquid under changesof temperature. By my improvement, in which an elevated tank is used forthe non-freezing fire-extinguishing liquid, ample space is allowed forexpansion and contraction and a sufficient provision is made for theloss by evaporation. The water from tankJ does not flow until thenon-freezing liquid has passed below a certainvpoint, which in thedevice shown and described is the float, which is located near thebottom of the tank D.

Another great advantage of an apparatus thus constructed and embodyingmy invention is that if an accident happens to the system. the valve onthe floor where the accident has occurred can be closed before the valveholding the water in the water-tank J will be opened, thus preventingany dilution of the non-freezing liquid; and when the low-water level inthe tank J is reached it may be indicated by an electric gong or belloperated by any suitable low-water device, or as shown in Fig. 1,wherein when the low-water level is reached in the tank J itis indicatedby the electrical gong or bell R in the circuit R,ineluding a battery 7'and circuit-closer Z at the tank, which is closed by a float-and-balldevice such as described as located in tank D'.

In Fig. 5 is shown another arrangement of tanks or reservoirs forholding the nonfreezing fire-extinguishing liquid and the water and anautomatically-operated valve, which I now preferably employ in the placeof the valve I, hereinbefore described. S is a tank or reservoircontaining water, which is connected with the system of pipes by thepipe 8. T is a tank or reservoir for containing non-freezingfire-extinguishing liquid and is connected with the system of pipes bythe pipe 25. This tank is, as shown, placed in an elevated position andrests upon the tank S and remains normally full, as does also the systemof pipes connected therewith, with the non-freezing fire-extinguishingliquid, which is of much greater specific gravity than water. In thepipe 3', which connects the pipes s and 25 together, is placed a valveV, which I term a dilferential valve, and which normally keeps the waterand the non-freezing fire-extinguishing liquid separate, but is operatedautomatically by the discharge of the nonfreezing fire-extinguishingliquid in the manner I will now explain. The valve V has one side oropening 1; smaller than the other side or opening '0, the smaller sidebeing connected with the water-supply, and the larger side or openingbeing connected with the supply of non-freezing fire-extinguishingliquid, and there is a hinged flap w between the openings or), whichnormally rests on its seat against the pressure of the water-supply,held there by the greater pressure of the non-freezin gfireextinguishing liquid, which, besides being of much greater specificgravity than water, comes from a source located at an elevatedposition,and the pressure thereof on one side of the flapw through thelarger opening 1) of the valve V is greater than the pressure of thewater on the other side of the flap w, through the smaller opening 0;,thereby holding the flap w to its seat and keeping the water and thenon-freezing fire-extinguishing liquid separate until the non-freezingfire-extinguishing liquid has reached such a low level in the tank T asreduces the pressure on the flap w to such an extent as to beoverbalanced by the water-pressure on the flap, which will now open,permitting the water to flow therethrough, following the non-freezingfire-extinguishing liquid into the's'ystem of pipes, as hereinbeforeexplained. As also shown in the drawings, the valve V has a hand-wheelW, by which it may be screwed down so as to shut off the supply ofwater, if desired, for repairs or otherwise, and there may be separatevalves separately operated for shutting off at any time the flow ofwater or non-freezing .fireextinguishing liquid, when desired, for anycause.

It is evident that so far as the invention,

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broadly considered, is concerned, the nonfreezing liquid might bereplaced by any fireextinguishing liquid, even water itself, and it isalso evident that it is not essential that the Various details shall befollowed out, though I prefer them substantially as described, since inpractice they comprise an eificient fire-extinguishing system.

lVhat I claim as my invention is 1. In an automatic fire extinguishingsystem, the combination of a system of pipes for conveying liquidsthrough the building, said pipes being provided with automatic tireextinguishing sprinklers or valves, a source of non-freezing liquidsupply, a pipe connecting said source with said system of pipes, asource of Water supply connecting by a separate pipe with said system ofconveying pipes, an antomatic valve in said water pipe to normally shutoff the water, and an automatic device controlled by the discharge ofnon-freezing liquid to open said water pipe valve, whereby the watershall follow the non-freezing liquid through the system of conveying anddistributing pipes.

2. In an automatic fire extinguishing system,'the combination of asystem of pipes for conveying and distributing liquids through thebuilding, said pipes being provided with automatic fire extinguishersprinklers or valves, an elevated tank, or reservoir containing anon-freezing liquid, a pipe connecting said tank with said system ofdistributing pipes whereby the latter are kept normally full of thenon-freezing liquid, an elevated tank or reservoir of water connectingby a separate pipe with said system of conveying or distributing pipes,an automatic valve in said water pipe to normally shut off the water,and mechanism substantially as described, controlled by the discharge ofthe non-freezing liquid, to open said water pipe valve, whereby thewater shall follow the non-freezing liquid through the system ofdistributing pipes.

3. In an automatic fire extinguishing sys tem, the combination of a mainfor conveying liquids to distributing pipes through the building, saiddistributing pipes being provided with automatic fire extinguishersprinklers or valves, an elevated tank or reservoir containing anon-freezing liquid, an elevated tank or reservoir containing water,said tanks being connected to a branch of the main by separate supplypipes, and a valve in the branch between the said supply pipes, wherebythe non-freezing liquid and Water are kept separated.

4. In an automatic fire extinguishing system, the combination of a mainfor conveying liquids to distributing pipes through the building, saiddistributing pipes being provided with automatic fire extinguishersprinklers or valves, an elevated tank or reservoir containing anon-freezing liquid, an elevated tank or reservoir containing water,said tank being connected to a branch of the main by separate pipes, anautomatic valve in the branch between said pipes, whereby thenonfreezing liquid and water are kept separated, and an automatic tripdevice, actuated by the flow of the non-freezing liquid from its tank toopen the automatic valve in the water pipe, to enable the water tofollow the non-freezing liquid through the distributing pipes andsprinklers.

5. In an automatic fire-extinguishing system, the combination of aseries of pipes for conveying liquids through a building, said pipesbeing provided with automatic fire-extinguishing sprinklers or valves, asource of non-freezing liquid supply, a pipe connecting said source withthe series of conveying pipes, a source of water supply con necting'by aseparate pipe with said system of conveying pipes, an automatic valve insaid water pipe to normally shut off the water, and an automatic deviceadapted to be actuated by the discharge of non-freezingliquid to opensaid water valve, said water valve after being actuated beingindependent of the discharge of non-freezing liquid, whereby the Waterwill follow the nonfreezing liquid through the system of pipes with avelocity due to the head of water, and without liability of beinginterfered with by back-flow into the conduit for non-freezing liquid;substantially as described.

6. In an automatic fire-extinguishing system, the combination of asystem of pipes for conveying and'distributing liquids through abuilding, said pipes being provided with au tomatic fire extinguishingsprinklers or valves, an elevated tank or reservoir containing anon-freezing liquid, a pipe connecting said tank with the system ofconveying and distributing pipes, whereby thelatter are kept normallyfull of the non-freezing liquid, an elevated tank or reservoir of waterconnecting by a separate pipe with said system of pipes, a normallylocked valve which when released is adapted to be opened by the pressure of water from the water tank, and a trip actuated by the dischargeof the non-freezing liquid for releasing said valve, said valve af' terits release being entirely independent of the supply of liquid in thetank originally containing the non-freezing liquid; substantiallyasdescribed.

This specification signed and witnessed this 4th day of April, 1890.

IVILLIAM HARKNESS.

In presence of- GEo. H. SoNNEBoRN, A. W. KIDDLE.

